#Throughout this last week, the BBC production company directed by Fernando Teixeiro has been filming in different parts of the city of Valencia in order to show the Anglo-Saxon world where the Holy Grail is located. A team has travelled to the city of the Holy Grail to make it known in the United Kingdom.

The Cultural Association The Way of the Holy Grail is once again committed to internationalisation and its president, Dr. Ana Mafé García, is working to position Valencia at the epicentre of the “search for the Holy Grail”. An international story that runs through the world of literature and promotes action and the adventure of walking.

That is why this past Friday, the BBC producer has been received with great affection and gratitude by members and supporters of the Cultural Association among which were Mr. Jesús Gimeno Peris, secretary and councillor of Massamagrell, Mr. Alfonso responsible for religious institutional relations, Jaco Müller of Indiana Tours Valencia, Guillermo Aguilar, documentary filmmaker and Mr. Rafael, new addition who will collaborate in the celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Holy Grail Trail and the founding of his association.

Since Dr. Ana Mafé García showed the results of her doctoral thesis on the Holy Chalice, providing more than thirty  discoveries about the Holy Grail, television stations from all over Europe have not ceased to come with their producers. In 2019, ZDFinfo did so, in 2020 France Découverte, in 2021 the production company Pernel Media of TV C8 (part of the Canal Plus group) and now the BBC. Demonstrating through scientific methodology that the upper cup of the Holy Chalice of Valencia is the only cup of blessing from the Second Temple period and archaeologically catalogued as ‘Kos Kidush Esther – 2018, Valencia’ has not been easy for this researcher. The International Scientific Commission for Holy Grail Studies, since 2018, led by Dr. Mafé, has been constantly recruiting PhD researchers who support and disseminate the history of the Holy Chalice.

More than six years of work, trips to Jerusalem, Rome, San Juan de la Peña… All sponsored by the ‘Centro Óptico Clínico Losan’ who did not hesitate for a moment to support the constancy and the enhancement of the sacred relic as a “meeting point and knowledge”. According to its manager, Mrs. Esther Santillana Reinoso. She assures us that if every company supported a doctorate, Valencia would be Harvard in a decade. Of course, an appropriate sponsorship law would have to be drawn up.

Dr. Mafé tells us that, when she received the call from the BBC producer, she did not hesitate for a moment to provide him with information and places where he could get to know and show the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral of Valencia in all its splendour. In fact, especially mentioned  was Valencia Cathedral and the Piró goldsmith’s workshop.

This past Thursday, the Piró goldsmith’s workshop filmed the manual process of making replicas of the Holy Chalice of Valencia Cathedral. Anyone wishing to see first-hand how these reproductions are handcrafted should definitely visit this workshop. There, the sons of Don Antonio Piró work on the different artistic methods used to make these magnificent pieces. And they are wonderful hosts when it comes to attending to the media who come to their workshop.

On Friday, the BBC was able to get to know the Holy Chalice of the Cathedral of Valencia thanks to the magnificent scientific explanations given by Dr. Mafé in the Chapel of the Holy Chalice. There she spoke about the iconological method, the importance of the study of the upper cup, its volumetry, the type of stones and how this sacred relic is a traveller and vertebra of a path.

Thus, before the beginning of the interview, the book “The Holy Grail” published by the Sargantana publishing house (all sales of which Dr. Mafé donates to the NGO of the Way) together with a couple of copies of the Pilgrimage Credential were given to the members of the production company, Izabela and Fernando Teixeiro, so that they could have another resource to explain the Way of the Holy Grail, the Route of Knowledge, the Way of Peace.

All these explanations were completed from the Christian doctrine by the canon curator of Historical and Artistic Heritage and director of the Valencia Cathedral Museum, Don José Verdeguer, who spoke of the importance of tradition and the Roman Canon, among many other facts he offered: “The evidence that speaks of the veracity of the Holy Chalice may not, one by one, be definitive as such. But all together, without doubt, they are”. Canon Don José Verdeguer said.

According to our enquiries, the BBC is planning the premiere of this documentary which, we hope, will contribute to the worldwide positioning of the city of Valencia. And, of course, of its international path, which is called to be the best European Cultural Itinerary of the 21st century.

Fernando Teixeira is a journalist with more than 15 years of experience working as a director of photography and video editor in film and television, documentaries and music videos. With a degree in Journalism and Filmmaking, Izabela Cardoso is a director and scriptwriter with more than 10 years of experience in television. Together they founded in 2017 the audiovisual production company @nextstopstories specialising in short documentaries of high quality in terms of content storytelling and cinematic visuals.

They work for several international media, mainly for the BBC. Since 2018, they have produced around 40 short documentaries for the British network in different parts of the world: Asia, Europe, North and South America. And on various topics, culture, tourism, history, archaeology, science and technology.

They are in Spain this February 2022 to produce three documentaries, including one about the ‘Holy Chalice in Valencia Cathedral. What scientific evidence supports that this is the real Grail used by Jesus?’

The 5-7 minute video will be presented in a few weeks on BBC WORLD via the BBC REEL platform, the BBC’s premium documentary destination.

Report by 24/7 Valencia team

Article copyright 24/7 Valencia